For just over 20 years, Renault's famed motorsport-influenced brand Alpine has been pretty much left in the dark.
But on Tuesday, the French automaker announced its Alpine Vision concept car—a beautiful, high-tech sports car that will soon be ready to take on proven sports cars like the Porsche 718 Cayman or the Alfa Romeo 4C.
As it stands, the Vision concept is a two-door, two seater sports car that will be powered by a similarly small, yet powerful powertrains just like in the 718 Cayman and in the 4C.
Like the Alfa Romeo 4C, it's speculated that the production version of the Vision concept will be driven by an automatic transmission with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. No word yet on whether a manual option will be offered.
It's also expected that the car will fall into the same $50,000 price range as its two competitors, if sold in America. This pricing lines up almost directly with the 718 Cayman's $52,000 starting price and with the 4C at almost $56,000.
A smallish engine like the turbocharged 4-cylinders used in the 4C and the Cayman is nothing to laugh at, especially in a light sports car. Autocar states that the production car may be as light as 2,400 lbs. Renault has said officially that the production version of the Vision concept will be able to achieve zero to 62 MPH in under 4.5 seconds.
Styling wise, the Vision concept takes cues from some of the most famous Alpine models ever. The quad-light setup on the front brings it back to the A110 model, as does the car's sloped rear end.
On the inside of the concept, a high-tech full LCD gauge cluster is found, similar to the one used on the new Audi TT and the Lamborghini Huracan. Drive-gear selector buttons are placed in the center console to go along with the steering-wheel mounted paddle shifters and the automatic transmission.
Though this is officially a concept car, expect almost all of what's seen here to be transferred over to the production car. Or more specifically, "80 percent," as Autocar reports.
Goodwood reports that a production version of the Vision concept car will be unveiled later this year and available at dealerships for purchase some time in 2017.
